Recognize the actual marital relationship. Actual marital relations have legal meaning. Legal significance of de facto marital relations

The legislation of most states only recognizes marriage formalized in the prescribed manner, i.e. registered with state or municipal bodies vested with the appropriate powers, or performed according to a specific religious rite, if the laws of a given country equate a religious marriage with a registered secular one.

One of the basic principles of the current family legislation of the Russian Federation is the recognition only of marriages concluded in the civil registry office (clause 2 of article 1, clause 2 of article 10 of the RF IC). As a general rule, only a marriage registered in accordance with the procedure established by law gives rise to the rights and obligations that are provided for by family law for spouses.

An exception is the rule established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated November 10, 1944 “On the procedure for recognizing de facto marital relations in the event of the death or disappearance of one of the spouses at the front.”

There was a period in the history of domestic family law when legal significance was given to actual marriages. Actual marriage relations gave rise to legal consequences similar to the consequences of a legal marriage during the period of validity of the Code of Laws on Marriage, Family and Guardianship of the RSFSR of 1926 and before the adoption of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated 07/08/1944 “On increasing state aid pregnant women, large and single mothers, strengthening the protection of motherhood and childhood, the establishment of the highest degree of distinction - the title of “Mother Heroine” and the establishment of the Order of “Maternal Glory” and the medal “Motherhood Medal”, which de facto spouses were asked to formalize their relationship by registering marriage, indicating the actual date life together. If the actual marriage was not registered, it retained its legal force only until 07/08/1944. If such registration turned out to be impossible due to the fact that one of the actual spouses died or went missing at the front during the Great Patriotic War. By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated November 10, 1944, the other de facto spouse was given the right to apply to the court to recognize him (her) as the spouse of a deceased or missing person on the basis of previously valid legislation.

If initially the possibility of judicial recognition of actual marital relations was allowed only in relation to persons killed or missing at the front, then later judicial practice followed the path of a broad interpretation of the Decree, extending its effect to relationships when the death or disappearance of one of the spouses occurred although and after the war, but the actual marriage relationship that arose before 07/08/1944 continued until the death of the spouse, and objective circumstances (serious illness and other circumstances that prevented the registration of the marriage) did not allow the spouses to subsequently register the marriage.

It should be noted that the Decree of November 10, 1944 did not establish a time limit for the surviving de facto spouse to apply to the court to recognize him (her) on the basis of previously existing legislation as the spouse of a deceased or missing person at the front. Therefore, appealing to the sul with such a statement is possible in our time. And although there are fewer and fewer persons who are in de facto marital relationships that arose before 07/08/1944, the need for legal recognition of such relationships is not completely removed.

Thus, at present, actual marital relations of persons, one of whom died or went missing at the front during the Great Patriotic War, can be equated to a registered marriage.

The resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated November 5, 1998 No. ^explains that since, in accordance with the legislation in force before the issuance of the Decree of July 8, 1944, an unregistered marriage had the same legal consequences as a registered one for property acquired jointly by persons who were married family relationships without marriage registration, before the entry into force of the Decree, the general regime applies joint ownership spouses. Based on clause 6 of Art. 169 of the RF IC, when resolving a dispute over the division of such property, it is necessary to be guided by the rules established by Art. 34-37 RF IC.

In other cases, actual marital relations cannot be regulated by family law. Property relations between de facto spouses can be regulated only by the norms of civil legislation on common shared property, which has been repeatedly emphasized in decisions of the highest judicial bodies.

However, in some cases, the property of actual spouses may be subject to the regime of common joint property. In accordance with paragraph 3 of Art. 244 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the formation of joint ownership of property is possible only in cases provided for by law. In addition to the RF IC, other laws also provide for the emergence of joint ownership. So, in the original version of Art. 2 of the Law of the Russian Federation dated July 4, 1991 No. 1541-1 “On the privatization of housing stock in Russian Federation"residential premises could be transferred into common ownership (joint or shared) or into the ownership of one of the persons living together, including minors. In accordance with the amendments made to this Law on May 15, 2001, residential premises transferred through privatization may belong to persons living in them only on the right of common shared ownership, with the exception of spouses, to whom the residential premises are transferred into joint ownership.Thus, for 10 years, privatization housing legislation allowed the possibility of joint ownership for persons who were not in a registered marriage.

Actual spouses may also have common joint ownership of certain other types of property if they are part of a peasant (farm) enterprise or of common use property in a gardening, vegetable gardening or dacha non-profit partnership acquired or created by such a partnership at the expense of targeted contributions from its members if the actual spouses are members of one such partnership. Relations between actual spouses regarding such property are subject to regulation not by family law, but by civil law rules on joint property.

Cm.: the federal law dated June 11, 2003 No. 74-FZ "On peasant (farm) farming."
See: Federal Law of April 15, 1998 No. 66-FZ “On gardening, vegetable gardening and dacha non-profit associations of citizens.”

Refers to a special type of prerequisites for the emergence of certain legal relations - to actual conditions (along with the actual upbringing of a child, actual divorce, etc.) and is currently subject to legal discrimination more than others. It begins in the terminological field and ends in the space of legal consequences.

The convention of the term “actual marriage” is derived from the normative postulate of paragraph 2 of Art. 10 of the RF IC: in the absence of an act of registration of the corresponding union of a man and a woman, there is no marriage at all. This is a type of extramarital union that is classified based on various criteria. According to subjective characteristics, they are unions of persons of different sexes, a certain age and civil status. Unions of persons of the same sex, of course, do occur. Their public assessment is very changeable, and the modern one has not yet been fully formed. From a publicity point of view, extramarital unions can be anonymous or non-anonymous. According to the characteristics of duration: casual (one-time or short-term) sexual relations, without the desire to continue and consolidate them - temporary and stable - concubinage.

The first form of FB is couple marriage. This premise, of course, is conditional, since it was the only form of individual union of men and women, which further gave birth to a paired family. The second historical form was the Roman concubinate and its world analogues. The third is actual marriage, or cohabitation (obsolete), or de facto matrimony.

Thus, FB is a union of a man and a woman, characterized by stable, long-term cohabitation, running a common household, organizing leisure time, and, if there are children, parental care for them, i.e. maintaining family relations. This means that the main thing is that persons in relationships characteristic of spouses are identical in a non-legal context.

A different point of view about its essence has been expressed in the literature. So, A.P. Sergeev writes: FB refers to relationships between persons involved in them that meet all the requirements and conditions for marriage, but are not registered in the manner prescribed by law. This is not entirely true. In this union, the conditions may not be met.

In KZoBSO RSFSR 1926 this phenomenon received legal recognition. This did not lead to a complete identification of the legal consequences of a state in the FB with a registered marriage, however, community of property and the right to alimony arose. A simplified fixation of paternity inevitably followed. The fact of FB in the case of family law conflict was established by the court.

By Decree of the Plenum Supreme Court USSR from 07/08/1944 the actual marriage was declared illegal. The basic principle laid down by this Decree - state recognition of only registered marriages - is still fundamental for domestic family law. Arguments: 1. Strengthening the importance of the family in a socialist society, strengthening its stability and strength should have been expressed in the establishment of mandatory participation of the state. authority in the matter of concluding a marriage. 2. FBs also interfered with the state because they caused material damage to the legitimate family: property was dispersed as a result of a court decision caused by the frivolous behavior of the head of the family; proving illegitimate paternity was easy. The position is controversial: 1) the interests of an illegitimate child and his mother are ignored (are they delinquents?); 2) the behavior of the head (!) of a legitimate family is affectionately called “frivolous”; The difficulties of establishing the truth in the case (of which there are many now) are shifted from the “mighty shoulders” of the third power - justice - onto the fragile shoulders of a woman who has given society a new life.

Thus, it is high time to raise a healthy doubt about the fundamental principle of marriage law regarding the recognition of only a registered marriage, although it cannot be said that this has not been done before.

So, from the outside, FB differs from “legal” only by a state act. registration. This does not change the essence of both phenomena. An analogy can be drawn (Civil Code of the Russian Federation): “a citizen engaged in entrepreneurial activity” without appropriate registration “has no right to refer in relation to transactions concluded by him to the fact that he is not an entrepreneur. The court may apply to such transactions the rules of this Code on the obligations associated with the implementation of entrepreneurial activities." FB is an objective reality. The exact number of such unions is impossible to establish - the approximate number is determined during the population census: there are always more married women than men (this gap is mainly made up of actual marriages, in which the woman considers herself to be married, and the man considers himself free).

If we move towards the recognition of the FB phenomenon, then, apparently, the requirements for it should basically correlate with the requirements for a “legal” marriage, except for the sign of registration and the optionality of cohabitation: both of them undermine the very essence of de facto marriage. This means that age, close relationship, adoption relationship, state in another (registered or de facto) marriage, non-anonymity (publicity) of the union are conditions for the court to recognize the fact of FB, if we, in principle, return to such a possibility.

It is somewhat more complicated with the conditions of legal capacity and the facts of concealment of diseases provided for by the rules of the RF IC. As in the case of failure to comply with the age of consent requirement (for a “legal” marriage), the determination of the meaning of these facts should be left to the discretion of the court. And in general, in relation to the legal recognition by the court of the fact of FB, it is logical and fair to use analogies of the rules of the RF IC on reorganization and on the refusal to reorganize an “invalid marriage” and benefits for a bona fide party after the marriage is declared invalid.

Results. FB is a type of family union. If its essence corresponds to the essence of a “legal” marriage, including in terms of the basic conditions for the validity of the latter (of course, not in a strict version - with the right of the court to apply situational discretion), it deserves legal recognition through: 1) establishing the fact of FB in a special proceeding civil process; 2) the extension to him of regulatory family law norms on the legal and contractual regime of property acquired during marriage, an agreement on the provision of material support, relevant housing and social rights; obtaining protective legal opportunities to protect their interests arising from de facto marriage; 4) acquiring the status of “surviving spouse” in inheritance relations.

In this case, society’s respect for the position of de facto spouses who do not want state intervention in their personal lives is by no means lost, since the appeal to the legal mechanism will be built exclusively on a dispositive basis. Family law will only provide the subjects of a given family union with a hypothetical opportunity to take advantage of the benefit and power of their norms - the actual spouses will decide jointly or each of them individually to translate the hypothesis into a disposition.

Probably everyone has come across the phrases “civil marriage”, “de facto marital relationship” and “cohabitation”. When using these terms, people, as a rule, mean by them a situation in which a couple in love, living together for a long time, is in no hurry to legitimize their relationship.

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of situations where people live together, run a common household, give birth and raise children, but for some reason do not officially register their relationship.

Civil marriage

To understand the meaning of the term “civil marriage”, one must take into account that:

it was used in Russia as a contrast to church marriage, since the conditions for marriage in Russia were established by the church for centuries;

until December 1917, marriage took place in the church according to established rules;

it was church marriage that was recognized as the only legal one and had legal consequences (including the fact that church marriage is indissoluble);

in the process of separation of church and state, the state arrogated to itself the right to completely regulate the relationship between spouses with the help of secular legislation, therefore the only form of marriage became civil, that is, secular marriage. That is why marriage began to be called civil in contrast to the previous marriage - church (religious);

With the adoption of the decrees of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR "On civil marriage, on children and on maintaining civil registers" dated December 18, 1917 and "On divorce" dated December 19, 1917, civil marriage became the only form of marriage recognized in Russia. Marriages registered in the marriage and birth registration departments of the city (district, county or volost zemstvo) government received legal force. The first Russian code - the Code of Laws on Civil Status, Marriage, Family and Guardianship Law of the RSFSR of 1918 determined: “Only a civil (secular) marriage registered in the civil registry office gives rise to the rights and obligations of the spouses set out in this section. Marriage ", committed according to religious rites and with the assistance of clergy, does not give rise to any rights and obligations for the persons who entered into it, if it is not registered in the established manner."

Thus, civil marriage is a marriage registered in the relevant government authorities without the participation of the church. In colloquial speech, this term refers to cohabitation and running a joint household without registering a marriage. An unregistered marriage is correctly called a de facto marriage.

Actual marital relations

The term “de facto marital relationship” was introduced into use in Russia in 1926 with the adoption of the Code of Laws on Marriage, Family and Guardianship, according to paragraphs 11, 12 of which it was believed that persons are in actual marital relations, if these persons mutually recognize each other as spouses, or if the marriage relationship between them is established by the court based on the actual circumstances of life.

Evidence of marital cohabitation in the event that the marriage was not registered is for the court: the fact of cohabitation, the presence of a common household in this cohabitation and the identification marital relations to third parties in personal correspondence and other documents, as well as, depending on the circumstances, mutual material support, joint upbringing of children, etc.

That. Until 1944, a joint household and a common bed were considered a sufficient condition for recognition of an actual marriage as “real” - with all the ensuing rights and obligations.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 8, 1944, de facto marriage relations were deprived of legal force. Persons who were members of them were given the opportunity to register a marriage, indicating the duration of their actual life together. If such registration turned out to be impossible, since one of the de facto spouses died or went missing at the front during the Great Patriotic War, then by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated November 10, 1944, the other de facto spouse was given the right to apply to the court for recognition his (her) spouse who died or disappeared on the basis of previously existing legislation.

The fact of being in a de facto marital relationship could be established by the court in accordance with Article 247 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the RSFSR only in the presence of the following set of circumstances:

only in the event of the death of one or both spouses;

only if the actual marriage relationship arose in the period from 1926 to July 8, 1944;

only if the actual marital relationship continued until the death of one of the persons in it;

none of the persons who were in a de facto marital relationship was in another marriage before their death.

Cohabitation

Cohabitation- living together of several people in one living space.

Often, a situation in which a couple in love, living together for a long time and does not formalize such a relationship in any way, is called cohabitation by others, which offends the lovers, so they call their family-matrimonial relationship a civil marriage, thus trying to distinguish their relationship from a legal marriage registered in Registry office.

Cohabitation has always existed, but in modern world it is becoming increasingly popular. The interests of partners in cohabitation are not protected by law in any way, but despite this, many couples are in no hurry to formalize their marriage, motivating this, among other things, by the fact that young people need to live together for some time and take a closer look at each other in order to avoid many problems in the future V family life.

Neither the state nor the church supports cohabitation. The Church directly condemns such relationships, calling them fornication, and disapproval from the state is expressed in the absence legislative framework regulating cohabitation.

Guest and virtual marriage

Guest marriage- this is an officially registered marriage in which each spouse lives separately (in different cities, countries, apartments) in a free life and does not maintain a common household with the other spouse, but at the same time periodically goes (comes) to visit the other for joint leisure and holidays or vacation.

Virtual marriage– the newest form of permanent relationships carried out via the Internet between users with their registration on specialized sites. A virtual marriage is not legally a marriage and is not recognized by the state, but at the same time it imitates the institutions of marriage, registration, and family life accepted in society.

Legal consequences of an unregistered marriage

In contrast to a registered marriage, for persons living together and who have not formalized their relationship:

It is not recognized as possible for marriages registered in accordance with state legislation, but not corresponding to canonical norms (for example, if the number of marriages allowed by church rules is exceeded by one of those wishing to get married or if they are in unacceptable degrees of kinship).

The Church blesses the marriages of those persons who consciously begin this sacrament. Modern church documents prescribe: “Due to the unchurched nature of the majority of those entering into a church marriage, it seems necessary to establish mandatory preparatory conversations, during which the clergyman or lay catechist must explain to those entering marriage the importance and responsibility of the step they are taking, reveal the Christian understanding of love between a man and a woman, explain the meaning and significance of family life in the light of Holy Scripture and the Orthodox teaching on salvation.”.

We should strive to ensure that the wedding of Orthodox Christians takes place in the parish to which they belong.

The sacrament of Marriage, just like the sacrament of Baptism, cannot be performed on a person who denies the fundamental truths of the Orthodox faith and Christian morality. People who wish to receive them for superstitious reasons cannot be admitted to participate in these sacraments. In this case, it is recommended to postpone the wedding until the person understands the true meaning of the sacrament of Marriage.

The Church also does not allow the following persons to be married:

It is unacceptable to perform a wedding in the absence of the free consent of both parties.

In cases where the priest finds it difficult to determine the presence or absence of obstacles to the celebration of the sacrament of Marriage, the priest must either independently contact the diocesan bishop, or invite those wishing to get married to contact the diocesan authorities for resolution of the confusion and permission to perform the wedding.

The consecration of a marriage committed - by mistake or maliciously - in the presence of obstacles established by church legislation is recognized as invalid. The exception is weddings performed in the presence of such obstacles that can be ignored with the blessing of the bishop (see point b of the list above), or if one of the married persons does not meet the age requirement, if by the time the violation was discovered the legal age had already been reached or if in such a marriage the child has already been born. Moreover, if a marriage is declared invalid due to a violation of the age limit, the wedding can be performed when the parties reach their legal age.

A marriage may be declared invalid upon the application of one of the spouses in the event of the inability of the other spouse to cohabitate for natural reasons, if such inability began before the marriage and is not due to old age. In accordance with the definition of the All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918. an appeal on this matter to the diocesan authorities can be accepted for consideration no earlier than two years from the date of marriage, and “the specified period is not necessary in cases where the spouse’s inability is undoubted and is due to the absence or abnormal anatomical structure of organs”.

In relation to Orthodox Christians, whose marriage, previously entered into legally, has not been consecrated church sacrament Marriage, parish priests should be guided by the determination of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of December 28, 1998 on the inadmissibility of the practice of depriving Communion to persons living in unmarried, and identifying such marriage with fornication. One should have special pastoral care for such people, explaining to them the need for the grace-filled help sought in the sacrament of Marriage, and also that for Orthodox Christians the practice of living in a civil marriage without a wedding is unacceptable.
When blessing spouses who have lived together for many years and were not married in the Church, one should use “ The rite of wedding of spouses, in the years of many existences» .

II. Marriage with heterodox and non-Orthodox people

The difference in religion between the bride and groom makes it canonically impossible to consecrate marriages concluded between Orthodox and non-Christians (IV BC 14; Laod. 10, 31; Carth. 30; VI BC 72). The Trullo Council (Rule 72), under threat of excommunication, prohibits Orthodox Christians from marrying not only pagans, but also heretics.

This is due to the Church’s care for the Christian growth of those who marry: “Community of faith between spouses who are members of the body of Christ is the most important condition for a truly Christian and ecclesiastical marriage. Only a family united in faith can become a “domestic Church” (Rom. 16:5; Phil. 1:2), in which husband and wife, together with their children, grow in spiritual perfection and knowledge of God. Lack of unanimity poses a serious threat to the integrity of the marital union. That is why the Church considers it its duty to encourage believers to marry “only in the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:39), that is, with those who share their Christian convictions.”.

At the same time, the Church can show pastoral leniency towards persons married to non-Christians, ensuring that they maintain contact with the Orthodox community and can raise their children in Orthodoxy. The priest, considering each individual case, must remember the words of the Apostle Paul: “If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she agrees to live with him, then he should not leave her; and a wife who has an unbelieving husband, and he agrees to live with her, should not leave him. For an unbelieving husband is sanctified by a believing wife, and an unbelieving wife is sanctified by a believing husband.”(1 Cor 7:12-14).

The question of the possibility of blessing the marriages of Orthodox Christians with non-Orthodox Christians must be resolved in accordance with the current definitions of the highest church authority. So, in Fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church stated: “Based on considerations of pastoral economy, the Russian Orthodox Church, both in the past and today, finds it possible for Orthodox Christians to marry Catholics, members of the Ancient Eastern Churches and Protestants who profess faith in the Triune God, subject to the blessing of the marriage in the Orthodox Church and the raising of children in Orthodox faith. The same practice has been followed in most Orthodox Churches over the past centuries.”.

III. End of marriage

The marital union must be indestructible according to the word of the Savior: « What God has joined together, let no man put asunder» (Matt. 19:6).

At the same time, based on the Gospel teaching, the Church recognizes the possibility of ending a marriage during the lifetime of both spouses in the event of adultery of one of them (Matthew 5:32; 19:9). Divorce is also possible in cases that affect the marriage union as destructively as adultery. In addition, the Church has considered a number of reasons for divorce acceptable, which can be likened to the natural death of one of the spouses, ending a marriage.

At present, the Russian Orthodox Church, on the basis of the sacred canons, the definition of the Holy Council of the Orthodox Russian Church of 1917-1918 “On the reasons for the dissolution of a marriage consecrated by the Church” and the Fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, considers the following reasons acceptable for considering the issue of recognizing a marriage as broken :
- the falling away of one of the spouses from Orthodoxy;
- adultery of one of the spouses (Matthew 19:9) and unnatural vices;
- entry of one of the spouses into a new marriage in accordance with civil law;
- monastic tonsure of one of the spouses, performed subject to mutual consent and fulfillment of all moral obligations towards family members; tonsure performed without observing these conditions cannot be considered valid, and its consequences must be regulated by the Regulations on Monasteries and Monasticism;
- the inability of one of the spouses to cohabitate as a result of intentional self-mutilation;
- illness of one of the spouses with leprosy, syphilis, AIDS, as well as medically certified chronic alcoholism or drug addiction of the spouse;
- unknown absence of one of the spouses, if it continues for at least three years in the presence of an official certificate from an authorized state body; the specified period is reduced to two years after the end of hostilities for spouses of persons missing in connection with such, and to two years for spouses of persons missing in connection with other disasters and emergencies;
- malicious abandonment of one spouse by the other;
- a wife committing an abortion with her husband’s disagreement or a husband forcing his wife to have an abortion;
- an attack by one of the spouses on the life or health of the other or children, established in court;
- incurable serious mental illness of one of the spouses that occurred during the marriage, confirmed by medical certificate.
If one of the spouses has one of the listed grounds, the other may turn to the diocesan authorities with a request to consider the issue of terminating the marriage. At the same time, the presence of a decision by secular authorities on divorce does not negate the need for church authorities to make independent judgments and make their own decisions according to the reason of Holy Scripture, according to church canons and according to the duty of pastoral care.

Before contacting the diocesan bishop, those intending to divorce should meet with their parish priest, who is called upon to study the situation and, if possible, exhort the spouses to reconcile. If such admonition is unsuccessful or it is impossible to implement it, the priest issues them an appropriate conclusion to submit it to the diocesan administration, or sends such a conclusion to the diocesan administration independently.

After researching the issue, the diocesan bishop issues a certificate recognizing the given church marriage as broken up and the possibility for the innocent party to marry a second or third marriage. The guilty party may be given such an opportunity after repenting and performing penance, of which the guilty spouse may also be given a certificate in the event of his appeal.

The actual consideration of cases and the issuance of the mentioned certificates can be carried out, with the blessing of the diocesan bishop, by a commission consisting of presbyters and, if possible, headed by a suffragan bishop, if there is one in the diocese. Cases are considered by the commission collectively, and, if necessary, with hearings of the parties. The decision on divorce is made in the diocese at the place of actual residence of the spouses. If spouses live in different dioceses, the divorce can be performed in one or another diocese.

APPLICATION
About consanguinity and property

Consanguinity along the collateral line in degrees, in the presence of which marriage is prohibited without the possibility of exception, consists of:
- in the second degree - brothers and sisters, including half-blooded and half-brothers (hereinafter);
- in the third degree - uncles and aunts with nephews and nieces;
- to the fourth power -
Consistent in blood relationship along the lateral line in the degrees at which marriage can be performed with the blessing of the bishop are: (this and the following lists contain all possible family ties of each degree, despite the fact that marriages in some cases are impossible even theoretically, given the difference in generations):
- to the fifth power -
- to the sixth power -
- to the seventh power -
In the case of monogamy of both spouses, the property of two births (biparental property) consists of:
- in the first degree - the spouse and parents of the other spouse;
- to the second degree -
- to the third degree -
- to the fourth power -
In the case of bigamy of one or both spouses, the property of two births (biparental property) consists of:
- in the first degree - stepfather and stepmother with stepsons and stepdaughters;
- to the second degree -
- to the third degree -
- to the fourth power -
A property of three kinds (three-genus property) in the first degree consists of:
- his stepson's stepfather and wife; her stepdaughter's stepmother and husband;
- his wife's husband and mother-in-law from her other marriage; the wife and father-in-law of her husband from his other marriage.
1 - “Such cohabitations are sinful, and their spread in the world is opposition to God’s plan for man, is dangerous for the institution of marriage and cannot receive any recognition from the Church” (On the participation of the faithful in the Eucharist, V)

2 - See document « . II, 2

3 - Comp. document « On religious-educational and catechetical ministry in the Russian Orthodox Church". II, 1

4 - Parents and their children, grandparents and grandchildren are related by blood in a direct line

5 - For an explanation of the degrees of consanguinity in the collateral line, see the appendix to this document

6 - Relationships of property arise from a marriage between representatives of two clans: between the spouse and the relatives of the other spouse and between the relatives of the spouses

7 - For an explanation of the degrees of property, see the appendix to this document

8 - By the Decree of the Holy Synod of December 31, 1837, the relationship between the successor and the successor was recognized as non-existent

9 - See also section III of this document

10 - Definitions of the Holy Council of the Orthodox Russian Church 1917-1918. “On the reasons for dissolving a marriage sanctified by the Church”, paragraph 10

12 - Basics of social concept, X.2

13 - Basics of social concept, X.2

14 - “By supervising the canonical order and church discipline, the diocesan bishop... in accordance with the canons, resolves issues arising during the conclusion of church marriages and divorces” ( Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, chapter XV, 19 (d))

Legal aspects

Even when running a common household and/or having common children, it is not legally recognized everywhere and not always. Recognized in the USSR in 1926-1944. According to the current Family Code of the Russian Federation, unregistered cohabitation of a man and a woman does not give rise to marital rights and obligations, although the rights of children born in marriage do not differ from the rights of children born out of wedlock. The legislation of some foreign countries recognizes it as a concubinage.

Moral assessment

Religious view

Modern assessments in a secular society

In modern Western and Russian societies, despite a number of legal problems associated with cohabitation, it is becoming increasingly widespread and, accordingly, public recognition. However, there are quite pronounced gradations, reflected by the partners in how they call their union. Typically, those who consider it long-term and durable use the (terminologically incorrect) phrase “civil marriage”, and the partner is called a spouse. The use of this terminology reveals the need for psychological compensation, required due to the sometimes hidden awareness of the inferiority of such a “marriage” in comparison with the official one. In a number of cases, when communicating with a circle of acquaintances, such “spouses” express libertarian views on the non-interference of the state in issues related to personal life.

Household parties

Everyday difficulties in cohabitation are due to the fact that the reluctance to legitimize relationships is often associated with the reluctance of partners to take on the obligations that usually accompany starting a family. In this regard, in accordance with the dialectical unity of rights and obligations, “spouses” cannot fully rely on each other, especially in matters related to children and property relations. This leads to more instability actual marriage towards official, which is confirmed by sociological statistics.

Solving legal problems

Since in a “de facto marriage” the acquired property is not joint by default, as in an official marriage, de facto spouses should take this fact into account. For example, register acquired property (car, apartment, etc.) as joint (shared) ownership; otherwise, the owner will be the title owner (the person to whom this or that object of rights is registered).

How to prove the fact of marriage?

Positive judicial practice on recognizing de facto cohabitation as marriage can be counted on one hand; it will take a long time to search. I want to post one of these solutions on my blog (solution).

What did the judge accept as evidence of the marital relationship?

A detailed list of property acquired during the period of marriage, testimony of witnesses, of whom quite a lot were interviewed. And also information from the page social network, in which the “marital status” column indicates “married” (who would have thought that such information could become evidence of family life in court?).

Testimony of witnesses on the other side who stated otherwise the court did not take into account- which is of course strange.

As you can see, the prospect of recognizing cohabitation as marriage appears if the relationship was long-term, there is a child, teachers kindergarten or teachers at school will confirm in court that the child was taken by both mom and dad, available joint photos, vacation trips, joint expenses, buying property - anything, the main thing is jointly and in front of witnesses. Everything I have indicated is not direct evidence, so it is impossible to speak unequivocally about their strength for the court. The more evidence of “joint”, the greater the chances of proving to the court the actual marital relationship.